Steven Laxton

Now living in Brooklyn, Steven Laxton was born in rural Australia and, after moving to Adelaide, he began shooting for local magazines and clients while he was still a teenager. Recognition came early when, in 2008, he was named one of the 15 Rising Stars of International Photography by American Photo Magazine. When Communication Arts named him a “Fresh” artist in 2009, it coincided with the inclusion of his series on Holocaust survivors in the book and project “Afterwards: Contemporary Photography Confronting the Past” curated by Nathalie Herschdorfer of the Musée de l’Elysée. In 2012, Steven was awarded the Arnold Newman Prize for his evocative photo essays and portraits. That same year, he also earned the Picture of the Year International Feature award and a PDN award for his project Circo El Salvador, which features images of nomadic circus families in El Salvador. He was named the 2013 International Friend of El Salvador as a result of the series, a distinction considered one of the country’s highest honors. Steven’s images were included in the American Photography 29 collection for 2013. Also that year, a film he directed for Rewrite Your Story won several Art Directors awards including best direction and casting. The film also collected a Deadly Award. In 2014, he was named one of PDNs 20 emerging filmmakers to watch. In 2015, he was selected again for the PDN Annual for his series on a transgender cabaret in Thailand. The honors continued in 2016, too. He was selected for American Photography 32 and was included in the Communication Arts annual for his recent advertising campaign for Horizant. In 2019 he was included in American Photography 35, and American Photography 37 in 2021.

Steven’s work engages a heightened nature, injecting a dreamy quality as a comment on how memory interacts with reality. Memory is far more ephemeral than photographs, something that Steven is particularly aware of in his portraiture. He explains, “A portrait is a record of your interaction with someone. It’s who they are and what you shared.” Steven’s work has been exhibited internationally and is in the collection of the Portland Museum of Art.

All images copyright Steven Laxton.